Police say Brockton couple took more than money from disabled Sharon woman

Wednesday

Mar 5, 2014 at 6:00 AMMar 5, 2014 at 7:49 AM

For months, home health aid Prisca Halaby also withheld proper food and medicine from the disabled woman, all while stealing more than $130,000 from her and her 92-year-old father over five years, according to Norfolk Superior Court documents.

Staff Reporter

SHARON – The abuse a 62-year-old cerebral palsy patient suffered at the hands of her caregiver did not end with the thousands of dollars pilfered from her through fraudulent checks, credit cards and bank accounts, court documents reveal. For months, home health aid Prisca Halaby also withheld proper food and medicine from the disabled woman, all while stealing more than $130,000 from her and her 92-year-old father over five years, according to Norfolk Superior Court documents.

The disabled women is confined to a wheelchair and relies heavily on outside help, and was fed junk food instead of the nutritious meals Halaby was supposed to feed her, the documents state.

Stockpiles of medication intended for the woman and needed to prevent her muscle seizures were found unused. Meanwhile, large amounts of painkillers and sleeping pills went missing, the documents said.

Financial exploitation and abuse of the elderly and disabled have become more common in recent times as more people look for ways to deal with a sluggish economy, said Patty Pomerleau, home care program director for HESSCO Elder Services in Sharon.

In many cases, poor health – whether physical or mental – makes the elderly and disabled easy targets for financial predators, she said. “We’re seeing more of it.”

In some cases, the victim’s ordeal lasts for long periods of time without any intervention, she added.

“If someone is not going without food or medication or their rent continues to be paid, there’s no obvious impact, so it’s hard to see (the abuse),” she said.

Over the span of five years, officials claim Prisca Halaby and her husband, Dominique, both of Brockton, opened bank accounts, credit cards, forged checks and went on shopping sprees and multiple trips to Haiti.

Prisca Halaby worked as an independent contractor with Peace of Mind Home Health Care Inc. in Boston when she was assigned to care for Irving Sandel, who was then 87.

That following year, Halaby then became the full-time caregiver for the man’s daughter.

In 2011, Halaby convinced the family to hire her directly, bypassing the agency, he said.

The theft began soon after, according to court documents. An audit of the couple’s accounts and the accounts of their victims later showed that Prisca Halaby, 35, stole from the disabled woman using five different bank accounts, and that her husband, Dominique, 45, was complicit in some of the thefts, according to the records.

Prisca Halaby repeatedly withdrew money from the woman’s shared bank account and deposited more than $50,000 into a Bank of America account she created under the patient’s name.

Of that amount, the woman told authorities that she had agreed to fund the couple’s $4,500 trip to Haiti.

In yet another account, jointly owned by Prisca and Dominique Halaby, more than $50,000 in deposits were made.

It was also alleged that she opened two credit cards in the patient’s name, and spent more than $20,000 in one month on airline tickets and hotels, as well as shopping trips to various retail stores, toy stores and pet stores, though Halaby has neither pets nor children, the documents said.

There were also several checks totaling $12,000 made out to Halaby’s husband, as well as a $2,000 check for a wheelchair, a purchase that was never made. The money was never returned, documents state.

Family members finally learned of the thefts after a family friend, who serves as Irving Sandel’s personal assistant, found a brochure for a Bank of America account in the disabled women’s name.

She later told family members that she and Prisca Halaby opened the account so that she could have some spending money, court documents say.

Relatives referred the matter to HESSCO Elder Services, an advocacy group, and the Sharon Police Department, who soon discovered that Halaby was paid thousands of dollars by the family that did not appear to be for the woman’s care, state court documents.

The couple was indicted on charges of larceny of property valued at over $250 by single scheme from a person over the age of 60 or disabled.

Prisca Halaby was also indicted on two counts of credit card fraud and three counts of identity fraud. Both pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Monday.

When reached at their Sharon home on Tuesday, the family declined to comment.

“We don’t want to talk about the case at all,” said the father.

The disabled woman, who was reached by phone, also declined to answer any questions. A manager at Peace of Mind Home Health Care Inc. declined to comment for this story as well.